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Janet van Dyne
Janet van Dyne, also known as the Wasp, is a member of the Avengers and was a member of S.H.I.E.L.D. until its collapse in 2014. History Early Life Janet grew up very privileged as the daughter of successful scientist Dr. Vernon van Dyne. She was spoiled through most of her life thanks to her family's fortune. Janet enjoyed the luxury of private tutors throughout her childhood and excelled in her schooling. Her father made sure that she was being groomed to be a successful scientist like him, even if she seemed more interested in prattle than petri dishes. Her mutant powers appeared very early on in her life, but luckily for Janet they were generally manageable with some creative dressing. After she started displaying her mutation, she started to design clothes that would look good on her despite any fluctuations in size and she owned a large range of shoes with different heels to maintain the illusion that she remained the same height from day to day. She had a reputation for being a flighty air-headed heiress— probably because she was both fashionable and popular at her private school —but ended up graduating early and getting into an Ivy League school. Her father being such a prominent scientist and the fact that her family was very well off probably also had something to do with her acceptance. She went on to do a joint PhD in molecular biology and genetics. Her thesis was on the potential application of the X-gene to treat genetic diseases such as Huntington's. Becoming the Wasp Janet met Henry "Hank" Pym while working on her post-doctoral research in 1996. They collaborated together on a project to examine insect-type mutants and the biological effect of their mutation. During this project they developed Pym Particles, named solely for Henry Pym in order to protect Janet's anonymity as one of the subjects of the research. During the time that they were collaborating, Janet's father was murdered under mysterious circumstances. Janet was determined to find out who killed him, but until she convinced Hank to use their newly-developed Pym Particles to help her avenge her father as the team Ant-Man and the Wasp. Working with S.H.I.E.L.D. After avenging her father, Janet realized that she had a knack for crime-fighting. In 1997, S.H.I.E.L.D. came to her and recruited her as an agent. Working as the Wasp, she was originally taken in to work as a field agent. However, as she got older and started to feel the physical stress of S.H.I.E.L.D. work, she started acting more as a consultant behind-the-scenes. Janet often worked as a team leader for missions and was trusted with a level 7 clearance. The Avengers Initiative Janet was a major force in the creation of the Avengers Initiative. She was on the panel that got to decide which heroes were most suitable for the initiative. Originally, she was not supposed to participate as an Avenger as the Wasp, but her name was thrown into the metaphorical goblet of fire and she was chosen as team leader. Powers Janet has the ability to grow and shrink her body at will. She can grow anywhere to 59 ft tall and shrink down to half an inch in height. When Janet shrinks or grows she gains incredible strength. It is unknown how her mass changes when she changes size. If Janet shrinks smaller than 3 feet she can fly using a pair of retractable insect wings. Her size-changing power is initially dependent on her emotions. When she is feeling sad or embarrassed she tends to shrink, and when she is angry she grows. Pym Particles, being developed based on her mutation, also have the same effect on the user, with unintentional size-change based on emotion being a common side effect. Janet can expel a bio-electrical charge to attack foes. They are capable of blasting through very strong and dense materials and causing pain to even the strongest of superhumans. She also has the ability to communicate with insects and intuitively understand them. Side effects of her mutation include some insect-like behaviors. Disabilities After the murder of her father, Janet started having symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder related to the discovery of her father's body. She also has Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, mostly causing joint pain and instability and requiring the use of mobility aids and other assistive devices. Trivia *Janet has a mobility and psychiatric service dog named Victor (subject to change). He is a pitbull mix adopted from a local shelter in 2014. * Normal clothes do not shrink or grow with Janet. She makes most of her own clothes from fabric made of unstable molecules so that they will always fit just right. *Before she was able to create clothes that changed size with her, she had to sew separate costumes to fit her when she was Wasp-sized. *Janet's paternal family live in the Philippines. *She loves puns and wordplay. Category:People Category:Mutants Category:Humans Category:Superhumans Category:Scientists